Nintendo’s unbeatable advantage will always be its first-party games, but the Switch 2 — a device rumored to be a fairly light improvement over its predecessor — doesn’t quite feel like it’ll be as culturally dominant as the Switch was in 2017.
That remains to be seen. Back in 2016-2017, every gaming media was skeptical that the Switch would be anywhere near as much of a success like the DS or the GameBoy had been, or if it was going to be another failure like the Wii U.
Why buy a game on PS5 when you can get it on Steam and have access to it on any number of devices?
That has been one of the arguments for PC gaming in a long time, but it never quite reached the console players’ mindset. Not to mention that, despite its dominance in game distribution, Valve and the Steam brand are nowhere near as recognizable as any of the other ‘big 3’. The Steam Deck may have sold a few million copies (four or five from what I hear?), but it’s nowhere near the hundreds of millions of Switches, even in sale pace nowadays. I can’t see it take less than a decade for that mindset to start changing change and competitors and regulation to get interested, and even that’s an optimistic estimate.
Still, it’s good to hear the platform exlusivity walls are finally breaking down.
it never quite reached the console players’ mindset
Exactly. Console players want to plug it into a TV and start playing. PC gamers are happy to tinker a bit. Steam Machines might fill that gap if Valve ever successfully launches one, but consoles still provide a good experience for a lot of people so it’ll be hard to shake loyalists.
Yup. I have a Switch, PS5, and a decent PC that can run most games fine on mid settings. I use the PC for gaming far less than the others partly because I prefer to play games on the TV sitting on the couch and partly because I like buying physical for trading in and buying used games. OSes designed for M+K just don’t lend themselves well to TV playing. If consoles move to being digital only, though, that advantage will be gone and I will look into a Steam Deck or whatever decently priced PC with an OS designed for TV + controller play is out there.
That remains to be seen. Back in 2016-2017, every gaming media was skeptical that the Switch would be anywhere near as much of a success like the DS or the GameBoy had been, or if it was going to be another failure like the Wii U.
That has been one of the arguments for PC gaming in a long time, but it never quite reached the console players’ mindset. Not to mention that, despite its dominance in game distribution, Valve and the Steam brand are nowhere near as recognizable as any of the other ‘big 3’. The Steam Deck may have sold a few million copies (four or five from what I hear?), but it’s nowhere near the hundreds of millions of Switches, even in sale pace nowadays. I can’t see it take less than a decade for that mindset to start changing change and competitors and regulation to get interested, and even that’s an optimistic estimate.
Still, it’s good to hear the platform exlusivity walls are finally breaking down.
Exactly. Console players want to plug it into a TV and start playing. PC gamers are happy to tinker a bit. Steam Machines might fill that gap if Valve ever successfully launches one, but consoles still provide a good experience for a lot of people so it’ll be hard to shake loyalists.
So yeah, your assessment is spot on.
Yup. I have a Switch, PS5, and a decent PC that can run most games fine on mid settings. I use the PC for gaming far less than the others partly because I prefer to play games on the TV sitting on the couch and partly because I like buying physical for trading in and buying used games. OSes designed for M+K just don’t lend themselves well to TV playing. If consoles move to being digital only, though, that advantage will be gone and I will look into a Steam Deck or whatever decently priced PC with an OS designed for TV + controller play is out there.
Couldn’t you just use Steam Big Picture + Controller for TV play?
Possibly, but I’m not dragging my computer into the living room every time I want to play it on the big TV. Need a dedicated one for that.
Or a long cable. It just depends on how things are located. Steam Link could also work, depending on how good your wifi is and if your TV supports it.
Yeah, neither are a great solution for me. Dedicated console for gaming on the TV for now, but it might be changing in the future.
Yeah, whatever works. I do the same, but I’ve seen some setups where PC works on both. It really depends on where things are.